xlCompare alternative
Accurate Excel diffs, plus a team review and audit layer
xlCompare is a capable Windows tool with version-control hooks and 3-way compare. SheetDelta adds hosted review, sign-off, and an audit trail on top of accurate diffs: cross-platform, free to start, and watching the SharePoint your team already uses.
Compare two workbooks right here
No Windows, no install. Drop two files and see the differences.
The earlier version
Drop the workbook here, or browse
The later version
Drop the workbook here, or browse
No files needed. A sample SaaS operating model and DCF, before and after a re-forecast.
Where xlCompare is strong, and who should pick it
xlCompare is an active, capable Windows compare tool, and it does two things many competitors don’t: it plugs into Git, SVN, and Perforce as a diff and merge tool, and it can run a 3-way comparison against a common base. If you want a Windows desktop tool with version-control hooks and the occasional 3-way merge, it’s a real option. Here’s where it does well:
Version-control plumbing
xlCompare hooks into Git, SVN, and Perforce as an external diff/merge tool, so a developer who keeps workbooks in a VCS gets a real Excel comparison at the point of a commit.
Three-way comparison
It can do a 3-way compare of a base and two edits, which earns its keep when two people changed the same workbook and you need to reconcile both against a common ancestor.
A capable Windows desktop tool
It compares formulas and values, includes VBA comparison, and offers a command line. On Windows, it’s a solid, active product with good reach.
Flexible licensing
Pricing ranges from a short 30-day pass to a yearly subscription to a perpetual professional license, plus a 5-user option, so you can match it to occasional or ongoing use.
xlCompare vs SheetDelta
Both compare Excel well and both touch version control. Both merge, too. The split is cross-platform reach, the team layer, and where the merge happens.
| xlCompare | SheetDelta | |
|---|---|---|
| Free in-browser entry | — | |
| Works on Windows | ||
| Works on Mac / Linux | — | |
| VBA / macro diff | ||
| CLI | ||
| Git / SVN / Perforce as a diff tool | CLI + GitHub Action | |
| GitHub PR comments | — | |
| Watches SharePoint | — | |
| Team review & sign-off | — | |
| Exportable audit trail | — | |
| 3-way compare / merge | In its Windows desktop app | Combine, on the platform, group by group |
| Pricing model | Subscription or perpetual | Free web + paid tiers |
xlCompare details from its own site, June 2026: Windows desktop, Git/SVN/Perforce integration, CLI, VBA comparison, 3-way compare; pricing spans a 30-day pass, a yearly subscription, and a perpetual professional license. SheetDelta's three-way merge is Combine, on the hosted platform, approved group by group. Details change over time, so check the current product pages.
SheetDelta’s wedge
A hosted review and audit layer on accurate diffs, for the team rather than one desktop.
A hosted team review layer
On top of accurate diffs, SheetDelta adds cell-anchored comments, required sign-off, an approval gate, and an exportable audit trail. xlCompare is a single-user desktop tool with VCS hooks, not a team review system.
It watches SharePoint
For finance and operations teams who live in SharePoint rather than a VCS, SheetDelta sees each new version automatically. xlCompare’s integrations are Git, SVN, and Perforce.
Cross-platform and free to start
Compare in the browser on any OS, or on the hosted platform from any browser. xlCompare is Windows-only.
PR comments and CI, hosted
A local git diff integration and a GitHub Action that posts the cell diff onto pull requests are built but not yet publicly released. xlCompare plugs into a VCS as a local diff tool, but doesn’t post hosted PR comments.
Try a compare now
Drop two workbooks into the free tool above to see how SheetDelta reads changes, before installing anything.
Both three-way merge. One does it in the review
xlCompare’s 3-way compare and merge is a real capability, and if reconciling a base and two edits in its Windows desktop app is the job, it does it well.
SheetDelta’s Combine does the same arithmetic somewhere else. It works from the common ancestor, proposes each change it would carry across grouped by what it affects, and writes nothing until you approve the group, then verifies the file it produced against what it intended and refuses to hand you one it cannot verify. Doing it inside the review means the merged version arrives with the discussion and the sign-off attached to it. We publish exactly what is checked and what is not.
Frequently asked questions
Is xlCompare cross-platform?
Does SheetDelta do 3-way compare or merge?
What team and review features does SheetDelta add?
How does SheetDelta’s pricing compare?
Can SheetDelta sit on top of Git like xlCompare does?
Put a review and audit trail on your diffs
Connect a SharePoint library and turn the next change into a reviewed, signed-off, audited event.
